Ben Stiller has given his response to Jimmy Kimmel's return to TV after he condemned the talk show host's suspension with a blunt three-word message.
Last week, the ABC show Jimmy Kimmel Live! was 'preempted indefinitely', which for TV means the show is going to be replaced in the schedule with something else.
There was a massive outcry at this, with Stiller among those criticising the move as he simply said 'this isn't right', however, Kimmel was back on most of America's TV screens this week.
The host gave a passionate monologue in which he thanked everyone who had supported him, including those who weren't fans of his but spoke out against the notion that a TV show might get taken off the air because it criticised the president.
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During his speech, he also jokingly read out a faux-statement from Disney (which owns ABC) that contained instructions on how to reactivate your Disney+ subscription, a reference to the platform losing a number of subscribers over the decision to suspend Kimmel.
Speaking on his return to his show, Kimmel said 'it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man' as he referred to his comments criticising people trying to score political points with Charlie Kirk's death.
Kimmel said Donald Trump did 'his best to cancel me' but instead 'forced millions of people to watch the show' and played clips of the US president saying the host had 'no talent' and was a 'whackjob' with 'no ratings'.
The TV host quipped 'I do tonight', drawing strong applause from the audience as he said the move had 'backfired bigly' and Trump 'might have to release the Epstein files to distract from this now'.
He said: "The President of the United States made it very clear he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here fired from our jobs. Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke."
Asking his audience to be '10 times as loud' if Trump went after other TV shows or parts of the media they didn't like, Kimmel said 'a government threat to silence a comedian the president doesn't like is anti-American'.
One big fan of the return of Jimmy Kimmel Live! was Ben Stiller, who returned to social media to praise the show.
"What a brilliant monologue from Jimmy Kimmel," he wrote as he signalled approval in a message almost as brief as his previous criticism.
The monologue has already been seen by millions of people, though one person who won't be happy Jimmy Kimmel Live! is back on the air is Trump.
In a furious message on social media he alleged that Kimmel was 'yet another arm of the DNC' and as such his suspension ending amounted to a 'major Illegal Campaign Contribution'.
Trump threatened to sue ABC over the decision, referencing a defamation lawsuit from last year where he was paid millions after an ABC anchor said he'd been 'liable for rape' when he'd actually been found liable for sexual abuse.
Now he's said 'I think we’re going to test ABC out on this'.
LADbible has contacted ABC for comment.
Topics: Jimmy Kimmel, Donald Trump, TV, Celebrity
Joe Harker